Archive for August, 2015

In order to look good in our vintage clothing we have to feel good. I’ve been studying nutrition obsessively ever since I found out I have Aspergers. I used to have a terrible time with panic attacks but through changing my diet to a low acid diet, they’re all but gone. If I go off my healthy diet, then they return!

If you have a doctor who’s still stuck in the 80’s and tells you they’re caused by stress, go find a new doctor right away & do not look back! This is old & way out dated belief by doctors who just simply don’t know anything about it and this is their way of not admitting they are too lazy to research it. In this day and age there’s no excuse for a doctor not to know it’s a physical problem.

I will write a post about anxiety in detail later but I came across this article about Omega 3s and had to pass it along. Omegas are part of what I use in my diet to combat anxiety. The entire B vitamin group is essential too but Omegas are amazing! I found this article from LIVE SCIENCE.com one of my all time favorite websites.

Here’s a link to this article on their website: http://www.livescience.com/51812-omega-3-prevent-schizophrenia.html

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Omega-3 fatty acids may prevent the development of full-blown schizophrenia in people who are at high risk of the disease, new research suggests.

What’s more, omega-3s seemed to prevent the study participants from developing psychosis for several years after people stopped taking them, according to the study.

The findings suggest a possible treatment for people at risk of developing this notoriously difficult-to-treat condition, the researchers said. Currently, people with schizophrenia are treated with antipsychotic medications, but the drugs don’t work for everyone, have side effects, and typically have to be taken for life, meaning they aren’t suitable for people who have some symptoms, but no diagnosis of schizophrenia.

“There may be alternatives to antipsychotic medication in treating and preventing the onset of psychotic disorder,” said study co-author Dr. G. Paul Amminger, a psychiatrist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. “Omega-3 fatty acids are basically a stigma-free and even longer-term preventive strategy with minimal associated risks and side effects.” [6 Foods That Are Good for Your Brain]

However, the study was relatively small, so follow-up work is needed to confirm the findings, Amminger said.

Omega 3 and the brain

Omega-3 fatty acids are commonly found in foods such as fatty fish, eggs and walnuts, and several early studies suggested the compounds may quiet inflammation in the body. Some research has found that omega-3s improve heart health and chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and depression. (However, a large, recent study of omega-3s showed they failed to improve heart health, according to findings published in 2014 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.)

People with schizophrenia often have high levels of inflammatory chemicals in their body, but low levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood. Amminger and his team wondered whether brain inflammation partly causes schizophrenia, and so they decided to test whether giving omega-3 supplements, such as fish oil, could help prevent inflammation and thereby stop schizophrenia from developing in the first place.

The researchers recruited 81 teenagers and young adults who were at high risk of developing full-blown psychosis within a year. The youngsters, who were between ages 13 and 25, all had some of the earliest symptoms of schizophrenia. For instance, some were hearing voices or hallucinating, but these symptoms lasted at most a few days. Others were having delusions that someone was trying to harm them, but they were able to quickly disregard those fleeting thoughts. (About 30 percent of adolescents and young adults with such symptoms will go onto develop clinical schizophrenia or psychosis, Amminger said.)

Half of the group took an omega-3-rich fish oil supplement for 12 weeks, while the other half received a placebo pill that was laced with a tiny hint of fish oil. The team followed the study participants for seven years.

Just 10 percent of the patients who took the fish oil supplement developed schizophrenia, compared with 40 percent of the patients in the control group, the researchers found.

The study was fairly small and it’s not clear why the omega-3s may have benefited the patients, but one possibility is that the compounds interrupted the cascade of inflammatory chemicals at just the right stage of the disease.

“One explanation is it puts you on a different developmental trajectory,” Amminger told Live Science. “So when you are able to interrupt this cascade, which leads to a full threshold psychotic disorder, it seems you don’t experience the same amount of risk.”

Because most high-risk patients do not go on to develop schizophrenia, doctors typically don’t prescribe a low-dose antipsychotic to people experiencing these types of symptoms, Amminger said. Antipsychotics are effective, but cause weight gain, high cholesterol, and diabetes, Amminger said.

By contrast, omega-3 supplements have few known side effects, Amminger said.

Still, follow-up work needs to confirm the findings. A handful of other studies are evaluating omega-3 supplementation and its effect on schizophrenia, so those can provide a more definitive answer, Amminger added.

The findings were published today (Aug. 11) in the journal Nature Communications.

Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter and Google+. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

Most people who love vintage clothing and antiques dream about going back in time to the decade they love the most or I hear people talk allot about “The Good Ole Days”. From my experience the 1940’s and 50’s are the most popular. After watching the nightly news many nights I’ve also thought about going back to a simpler time in life, less crime, less corruption, less responsibilities. That was until I saw an interview of Maya Angelou by Oprah Winfrey last Sunday on her Super Soul Sunday show. My new favorite show!

I’m a huge fan of Maya Angelou. There was no one like her, ever. Her hypnotic voice, her intelligence and wisdom. She reminds me of an owl. When I was 13 I used to pretend there was a wonderful big old wise owl named Maya that lived in the woods and I could go there and talk to her, sit with her and get advice & share a meal. It was based on Maya Angelou. I had left home at age 13 and lived on the street for just about 1 year. I slept in the bushes at my school at night, & hung out in the various public libraries during the day. That’s where I learned about reading and Maya Angelou. One day I sat down at a big brown table with open scattered magazines and papers all over it. By chance, right in front of where I sat down was an open magazine with her poem, Alone. It was the 1st time I had heard of Maya Angelou. I read it over and over trying not to cry in public. How would that look, a tough punk rock brat with a mohawk crying in public over a poem. I really connected to it, especially in my situation. I was totally alone at the time. I started looking up other things she wrote and fell under her spell ever since. I also used to pretend & wish she was my relative. How lucky her son is to have had her as a mother.

Anyway, in this interview with Oprah she was talking about getting her first job as a trolley car conductor. I think she said she was 16 years old at the time. She was persistent and sat in the office waiting to apply for this job. Up on the TV screen pops an old black and white photo of about 3 or 4 white women in these adorable 1940’s military inspired uniforms with their garrison caps on standing in front of a trolley car. They looked so pretty, dependable, and friendly. The main reason she wanted the job was to wear that uniform. Maya went on to say while she sat there waiting the women who worked in this office would tease her and push out their lips at her. As soon as I heard this my heart just sank! I was so shocked I felt my throat choking up. I could not believe what I was hearing. Whenever I hear of such blatant cruelty I usually think of young teenage boys, but the thought of these adult women, who looked so similar to me & my friends, being so disgusting made me sick. I then began to think about the fact that, that was normal behavior back then & despite all of the crime and horrible problems we have now I don’t want to go back in time if that’s what people, other so called ladies, did to innocent young girls. We may have our problems now but I’m grateful we’ve come along way in other areas. This would not be tolerated now. Thank God. She did get the job becoming the first black operator in San Fransisco. Amazing!

Below, I took my favorite photos of Dr. Maya Angelou and added my favorite quotes of hers that have inspired me and given me hope over the years. I had to include the vintage photos of course because I still love the vintage clothing!

There’s quite a bit of info on vintage clothing labels on the net, especially since vintage fashion has become so popular. But most all of it is about dating the clothing item. It completely ignores how beautiful some of these tags are. Especially the older ones. After over 20 years in the vintage clothing business I have come across tons of labels. We shoot all labels so we have quite a collection. I decided to pick just a few of my favorites out to share with you.

This is a navy blue designer ladies suit from 1940’s. I love the little cartoon illustration!

Balmain Vintage ladies Suit 1940’s

This next label is just as beautiful as the dress and it makes me think of the Humfrey Bogart movie of the same name. This dress is so glamorous it would have been perfect for the film if it were made a bit earlier. This dress is from the later 40’s. The movie came out January 23, 1943. I just LOVE the font here. It’s so romantic. The dress has delicate Tiffany blue rhinestones sprinkled around it. On the black it is simply stunning!

CASABLANCA VINTAGE DRESS 1940’s

1940’s Casablanca black evening vintage dress

These next labels are from mens ties. The Hotel New York tie is very rare! It was from the 1940’s too. I LOVE the little buildings and the fonts on the NY tie.

The Blue tie is a bit later I think, but not 100% sure. There is a sunset & desert flowers on this amazing vintage label. Now a days tags are so plastic and ugly.

1940’s hotel new york mens vintage tie

Vintage Mens Tie 1940’s

1950’s blue skinny mens vintage tie

1950’s blue skinny mens vintage tie

This next label was found here in Hollywood. We’ve never seen another one like it ever in 20 years. It has little cartoons on this one too and was made in 1935, it’s really old, and reads “A FILMLAND CREATION Miss Hollywood Jr.” Copyright 1935″. The little black dress it was on is a classic, still very much in style now. The fabric was amazing! You can’t tell from the photos but it had a knife pleated skirt & a scrunchy like bodice. Very stretchy. I wonder if the studios didn’t have a few labels made for some of the actors?

VINTAGE / ANTIQUE 1935 little black dress Film Land Creation

1930’s antique little black dress

This next dress was an actual vintage showgirl dress also found here in Hollywood. The label is quite famous. Kathryn Kuhn (1895-1979) Was a very famous fashion designer for people like Sonja Henie. The dress we had was one of her gowns used in a movie but I could not find out which one.

1950’s Vintage Kathryn Kuhn gown showgirl dress

Kathryn Kuhn vintage showgirl Gown 1940’s 1950’s

Rarely do we ever get to see labels when they’re not on the clothing. I have a roll of silk ribbon from a 1940’s to 1950’s clothing boutique in Denver. The label says “Fashions Hollywood Shoppe Denver”.

VINTAGE CLOTHING LABEL

Now getting to the 1970’s here are two very well known labels today. I remember when Banana Republic first opened here in S. Calif. They looked like an African safari shop. There was a beat up green safari jeep in the middle of the store with nets and rifles and palm trees used as props. It was like Disney Land in there with clothing racks around the outer edges all in the style of both casual surfer hippie to the full on African safari look. It was located in Laguna Beach so they had to appeal to the sandal wearing surfers of the day.

Vintage Banana Republic Shirt 1970’s

VINTAGE BANANA REPUBLIC BOHO TOP 1970’s

Gunne Sax started out really cool and sexy. They are not so chic now but we always look for the 70’s dresses. They are adorable. This one was especially cute. I have never seen another one like it, sadly.

1970’s sexy vintage Gunne Sax Maxi Dress

1970’s Vintage Gunne Sax Maxi Dress

This next little black dress is from the late 1960’s / early 1970’s and I just LOVE this tag. What a great name! The Doll Factory also has a great font face. I’m a total font freak! I love to collect them too. Great quality vintage never goes out of fashion. This looks like allot of the dresses current designers are trying to copy but even better. The fabric is stunning and it is so sexy without being slutty!

1960’s little black vintage dress

1960’s little black vintage dress

My last label is one of my all time favorites. The Betsey Johnson Punk label is one of the coolest ever. I don’t know why on earth she would change it. The new one she has is so bland and boring. This one is edgy and graphic. I love it! This is her little black ballerina dress. Another classic that looks so cute with both combat boots or sexy strappy heels! I used to wear this dress with combat boots a black leather jacket with all my punk band pins all over it. I had a long Bow Wow Wow mohawk when I was 14. I used to wear ribbons in it. We had allot of fun and this is still so cute and in style!